Blog no longer in use!

This blog is no longer being used by the Roll it Forward program. Please visit www.bostonbikes.org for the most up to date happenings with the Roll it Forward program, including current drop off locations, incentives,  and promotions. 

Thank you!

Workin' For His Wheels: Roll It Forward Bike Recipient Michael Abreu

Over the past week or so we've had a special guest in the Boston Bike Mines — Michael Abreu, a kid from Hyde Park who happens to go to high school in Brighton. Michael McKittrick, a teacher at Brighton High informed Roll It Forward that Michael Abreu had gotten his bike stolen and that he was devastated by the event, McKittrick wondered if we could find a way to get Abreu on a new bike.

Not long after that Michael Abreu was down in the Bike Mines, up to his elbows in bike grease, performing a complete overhaul on a pristine steel-lugged Trek road bike from the 80s. Michael showed incredible natural ability — never having to be told or shown how to perform a task more than once. He even remembered which items on a bike are left-hand thread (something even a seasoned mechanic screws up from time to time).

Michael blew through basic bike maintenance tasks like adjusting brakes and derailleurs, breezing through wheel-truing, moving right up to the overhauling of the bottom bracket, hubs, and headset. And when he was done doing everything that could possibly be done to his bike, he immediately offered to help out with working on bikes for other Roll It Forward recipients. A class act all the way.

The plan is for Michael to ride from his home in Hyde Park to school in Brighton. For this mission Michael received some necessary accoutrements — a Bell helmet and a Kryptonite lock.

We want to thank Michael for his help and wish him luck in his ambitious commuting endeavor.

Bunches Of Balance Bikes Delivered To Holland School

Yesterday Roll It Forward dropped off sixteen 12" and 16" wheeled kids bikes and sixteen helmets at the John P. Holland School in Dorchester. Most of these bikes are set up as "balance bikes" — The cranks and pedals have been removed to allow kids to learn to balance and steer before they become distracted by the secondary act of pedaling. At RIF and Youth Cycling Program, we teach a whole lot of kids to ride and this is far and away the best way to get kids rolling on two wheels.

The bikes will be a permanent fixture in the Kindergarten classrooms of Holland School, making learning to ride bikes a regular recess activity. We look forward to meeting a whole bunch of already-riding-kids the next time we visit the Holland for a Youth Cycling event!

And we have had some GREAT YCP events at the Holland School, check out the photos after the break...

Honor Roll

Our program moves fast.  Most of the time, we work so hard to repair bikes or to coordinate donation events that we rarely have the chance to absorb just how much support has come our way.  As we step forward into 2012, we want to take note of how lucky we are, and if you're reading this, you're the reason why. 

The good news:  We reached our goal of donating 1000 bikes!  As of today, there are officially 1087 more bikes in the hands of low-income Boston Families and in the neighborhoods and parks across our city.  The 1000th bike was delivered last month, during a great event with the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition's Vigorous Youth teen program.

The better news:  We're not stopping.  We're going to continue our work. There are plenty of people out in Boston who still need a bike, and we know how much impact a bike can have on someone's life.  You're the reason for that impact, because we couldn't have done this without you.

Roll it Forward wants to thank all of the following people, in no small measure, for helping us do what we do.  The list is long and we're naming names.

Major Contributors:
Mayor Thomas M. Menino
The Boston Public Health Commission (Daisy, Anne, and Elizabeth)
Giant Bicycles (Ed Barber, Brad Klipping)
International Bicycle Centers (special thanks to Harold Knochin, Gregg Smith & Chris Agee)
Pedros (Matt Simpson, Matty Bracken, Keith Cardoza)
Quality Bicycle Components (QBP)--special thanks to Chuck Sween & Steve Flagg
Erin Christiansen and the BPHC Childhood Injury Prevention Program
Alex Turnwall at Hifinit Design Group

Program Partners:
Belmont Wheelworks & Ace Wheelworks (Clint, Peter, Colin, Jason, Gary and all their great mechanics)
Bikes Not Bombs (Sarah, Elijah, Sam, Steve Bosco and their wonderful Youth Ambassadors Abdul, Stephanie, Will, Evan and Corinna)
Giant Cycling World (Seth, Baylor, and Lance)
Eastern Mountain Sports bike shops:
 Newton: Kevin, Dan, & Jimmy
 Cambridge: J.T. & Celeste
 Commonwealth Ave: Demian & Mat
 Hingham: Jason, Chris, & Jeff
Dave and the crew at Back Bay Bicycles
Josh and the team at Papa-Wheelies Bike Shop
Dan at Salem Cycles
JRA Cycles (Brian, Aaron, and the mechanic staff)

Special Thanks
* Thom Parsons
* Jonathan Chamberlain
* Everyone out there who has donated a bike
* The dedicated and talented Boston Bikes teaching staff and interns.
* Michael Kineavy, City of Boston Mayor's Office
* Transportation Commissioner Thomas Tinlin
* Nicole Freedman, Director, Boston Bikes
The goodfellas at Geekhouse Bikes: Marty, Greg, and Brad
Kim Lanza, Boston Public Works (thanks for saving the day)
Josh Klein and L.L. Bean
Dennis Davis, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Daryl Slater and Eric Anastasia at Kryptonite Locks
Niles Kuronen and the movers at Gentle Giant Moving Company
Dane Tullock and REI-Boston
Allan and Glen at Noonan Creative Group
Aigner-Prensky Marketing services
Huong Nguyen, Coleman Flaherty, and Rich Andrade, Boston Transportation Department
Michelle, Allen, Julie, and Mary Boston Auditing Department
Kate Sullivan, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Darryll Fernald, volunteer wrench
Pete Stidman, Boston Cyclists Union
John Tobin, Northeastern University
Will Crosby design services
Eric Ferraz and the crew at Penske Truck Rental
Anne Cushman and Redbones BBQ
Friends of Recycling, City of Wellesley
Dan Stevens, Town of Sudbury
Randall "DiDi" Cyprien of Wheelworks, for volunteering mechanic services
Jed Jeng, Super-volunteer extraordinaire
DotBike
Herb Nolan, Wellesley
Jackie Jackson, Boston Human Resources
Kate Bennett, Emely Medina, & Rachel Boillot, Boston Housing Authority
Liz Powers & Lauren Price at the LIFT Project
Julia Golomb at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy
Ricky DeFrancisco, Cantabrigian Mechanics
Jessica Robertson, MAPC
Greg Rooney, Boston Transportation Department
Charles Lucas, Mather Elementary School
Julie Sneed, Holland Elementary School
Doreen Dove and TeenLife
Kelli Trombley, Avalon @ Prudential Properties
Maurice Smith, Boston Public Works
Michael Welch at the Boston Redevelopment Authority
Vincent Best, Cambridge Public Works
Sportsmen's Tennis Club in Dorchester
Roz at the Nahant Police Department
Julie Gehring (thanks for the pie)
Rich LeBlanc, Boston Redevelopment Authority

1000

On December 17th, we accomplished something that to our knowledge, no other municipal entity has ever done:  We have officially reached our goal to collect, repair, and distribute 1000 bikes to low-income families across the City of Boston!

Can you imagine?  One year ago, there were 1000 less functional bikes in the City of Boston.  1000 kids, teens, and adults didn't have a bike in their lives and now they do.  In some instances, we introduced hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of bikes to kids in a single neighborhood.  And every single one of the recipients got a helmet and learned how important it is to wear it.





What will all of these bikes add up to?  What health effects will we see as more Bostonians become more active, riding their bikes for exercise, fun, convenience, or to save money?  More importantly, what will having a bike mean to those hundreds of young people that are now new cyclists, as they ride and have fun in their neighborhoods?  What will we see from this in a few years as they grow up with a bike?

We can't wait to find out.

-Images courtesy of Sam Rosenholz

Video: Operation 'Save The Free Spirit' With Cantabrigian Mechanics

A little while back we paid a visit to our friends at Cantabrigian Mechanics, a high end bicycle frame building and fabrication shop in Medford, MA. They happily lowered themselves to the task of fixing a damaged Free Spirit Outrage for us. Shenanigans ensued...we filmed the event.

 

 This is Georgie, the recipient of the bicycle in question. He seems pretty stoked on his new ride.

Roll It Forward Named Emerald Necklace Conservancy's Community Partner of The Year

 

On Wednesday, October 2nd Roll It Forward was awarded the Emerald Necklace Conservancy's Community Partner of The Year. The award was presented by ENC's own Julia Golomb during an incredibly touching ceremony. And as if that weren't amazing enough, we were also treated to a hilarious and informative speech by Living On Earth's Steve Curwood. Altogether a brilliant evening.

Earlier this summer Roll It Forward provided Emerald Necklace Conservancy with bikes and guides for a mountain bike ride in the Middlesex Fells involving a large group of Boston teens. It was awesome!

Photos from the day after the break...

Donate in the New Year

It's a new year, and we need your help to gather more bicycles to repair and donate!

As you ponder what to do with the remnants of 2011, please remember that Roll it Forward is always happy to receive your used bikes and bike parts.    If it is in serviceable condition, we can use it!

We accept all kinds of bikes: adult bikes, kids' bikes, women's bikes, mountain bikes and hybrids. We are also in desperate need of rear 26" mountain bike wheels and hybrid 700c wheels.

If your family got new bikes over the holidays or if you simply want to share the gift of bike-riding with someone in need, Roll your Bike Forward at any of the locations below:

•  Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) full service bike-shops
• Boston: 1041 Commonwealth Avenue, (617) 254-4250
• Cambridge: Harvard Square, 1 Brattle Square, (617) 864-2061
• Hingham: 6 Shipyard Drive, (781) 741-8808
• Newton: 300 Needham Street, (617) 559-1575

• Wheelworks Cycling Centers:
• Belmont Wheelworks: 480 Trapelo Road, (617) 489-3577
• Ace Wheelworks in Somerville: 145 Elm Street, (617) 776-2100

• Giant Cycling World-Boston
• -The Fenway: Corner of Kilmarnock/Brookline (next to Chipotle), (617) 424-6400

• Back Bay Bicycles: 366 Commonwealth Ave (corner of Mass Ave), (617) 247-2336

• JRA Cycles, Medford: 229 Salem St, Medford MA, (781) 391-3636

• Salem Cycle: serving the North Shore
• 72 Washington St. in Salem, MA (978) 741-2222

• Papa Wheelies: in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• 653 Islington St., Portsmouth NH (603) 427-2060

Commonwheels and IBC bike giveaway last month

Last month, Roll it Forward partnered with the Commonwheels bicycle co-op out of Allston/Brighton to provide bikes and helmets to kids from the Joseph M. Smith Community Center and the Jackson Mann school.  We couldn't have done it without the support of International Bicycle Centers.   Thanks Galen, and thanks IBC!

See more photos at: http://commonwheels.bostonbiker.org/2011/12/29/cw-donates-bikes-to-local-kids-just-in-time-for-the-holidays/

Mother Caroline Youth Cycling/Roll It Forward Giveaway

 

RIF recently gave 28 bikes to the girls of Mother Caroline Academy, a college prep school for 5th to 8th graders located in Dorchester. This was kind of a unique giveaway— it started out as a Youth Cycling Program event and transitioned into a RIF donation. Youth Cycling Program is Roll It Forward's sister program. YCP events take place at Boston schools, community centers, and camps. There is always a classroom component to these events — kids are given bicycle and helmet safety instruction prior to riding. The events usually last three days, generally an hour per day with each class. By the end of the session the kids are riding safely and in control with others. Most YCP events culminate with a cycling tour...maybe just of the school grounds for third graders or of the neighborhood or a town park for the older kids. The goal is to show kids that the bicycle is a safe, healthy way to navigate their environment...while having fun!

Often we find that many kids, primarily at lower grade levels, have never ridden before. It isn't uncommon to teach a half dozen or so individual kids to ride for the first time in one session. Our instructors never get tired of that "FLY AWAY LITTLE BIRD, FLY AWAY!" feeling they get from seeing a kid ride off on his or her own. 

More on YCP in future blog posts, back to RIF and Mother Caroline...

So a YCP event occurred at Mother Caroline and the girls there were so awesome, it turned into a RIF event where they got to keep the bikes at the school. Now you might be asking: "Why didn't they just keep the YCP bikes?" Good question. The YCP bikes take a BEATING going from school to school all year, so we use only the highest quality Trek bikes, most of which have been donated by RIF sponsor International Bicycle. Also, if we gave away our YCP bikes, we might not be able to replace them...24" wheeled, and small 26" wheeled mountain bikes are very hard to come by. The mechanics in the 'Boston Bike Mines' had to scrape and dig to come up with the 28 bikes that made it to Mother Caroline. 

Hey, if you have a line on where RIF can get some more small mountain bikes, we're all ears!

Jonathan Chamberlain is one of mechanics in the Boston Bike Mines. He spends countless hours prepping bikes for Roll It Forward.

Ice Weasels Cometh Cyclocross Race: RIF Bike Donation Location

 The 2011 Ice Weasels Cometh At White Barn Farm cyclocross race is doubling as a bike donation location for the Roll It Forward Program. If you're not familiar with RIF, check out our About page. So if you have old bikes, particularly small mountain bikes, 24" wheeled bikes, and hybrids, bring them to the event this coming Saturday, December 10th at 458 South St. in Wrentham, MA. While our need is primarily for smaller bikes, we will accept any bikes at all. We are also badly in need of 700c and 26" rear wheels. Any spare used parts or old tires you might having lying around would be welcome as well.

Even if you're not a 'cross fan, you can still drop a bike by White Barn Farm on your way to do some Wrentham Outlets shopping!

But wait...there's more!

And, if you donate a high-quality bike, you will be entered into a raffle for a free powdercoat for your bike, courtesy of Sugarcoat and Geekhouse Bikes.

See Thom Parsons at the event about donating your bike. He'll be the guy in the red hat, running around like a chicken with its head cut off...wearing a red hat.

Not familiar with Cyclocross? This is cyclocross:





Watch more video of NBX GP Of Cyclocross 2011 on cyclingdirt.org

Thanks To Kryptonite Locks

Often when Roll It Forward donates bicycles to folks in the Boston area, those bicycles are accompanied by safety training and U-Locks. And thanks to a really good deal from our buddy Daryl at Kryptonite, we now have some high quality Kryptonite Keeper Locks to donate.

Did you know that Kryptonite is a Massachusetts-based company? Just another reason why they're awesome. 

Thanks Kryptonite!

We'll Get By With A Lot of Help From Our Friends (At Cantabrigian Mechanics)

 At Roll It Forward we get some real, uh...gems sometimes bike-wise. We spend a lot of time playing the role of alchemists, attempting to turn lead (or something else) into gold. The other day we were working on a Free Spirit "OUTRAGE" and the cable stops for the rear derailleur broke off during "pre-stretching." Pre-stretching is where you kind of tug on the cables lightly to settle the ferrules (housing end-caps) so that they don't do it themselves during use, causing the derailleur adjustment to go all out of whack. The cables don't really "stretch" at all.

The lifespan of a Free Spirit with a busted cable stop is about that of horse in the old west with a broken leg...

usually.

Except for when you have friends like Ricky DeFrancisco from Cantabrigian Mechanics to help you out. Ricky offered to braze a new cable stop onto our otherwise doomed OUTRAGE so that it could get fixed up and donated to a deserving Boston resident. Cantabrigian generally does very high end, high quality work, but they took time out of their busy schedule to get awesome on a maybe-not-so-awesome-bike for the Roll It Forward program and we appreciate it greatly. Thanks guys!

Thanks To Eastern Mountain Sports

 

Roll It Forward relies on various partners in the Boston area to provide the program with bikes, Eastern Mountain Sports is one of those awesome partners. EMS encourages their customers to donate their old bikes to RIF and thus far they have have been incredibly successful — collecting countless bikes, many of them in phenomenal condition!

 

Big, HUGE thanks to EMS for their support of the Roll It Forward program.

Thank You JRA Cycles

A lot of businesses help the Roll It Forward Program do what it does. One of these businesses is JRA Cycles in Medford, MA. They handle the ordering of all the parts used to get our bikes ready for donation. And they're great guys. Recently, when we stopped in to pick up our parts order, the crew at JRA was in the midst of handing out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters, and getting a little goofy while doing it.

Thanks for being awesome JRA!

Big Thank You To Pedro's For Their Support of Roll It Forward

We just wanted to give a big shout out today to HUGE Roll It Forward supporter, Pedro's Bike Care. Pedro's has really thrown itself behind cycling advocacy on the local and national level, supporting all sorts of great events and programs. The Roll It Forward "Bike Mines" are fully stocked with an array of Pedro's products, from Bike Lust to Chain J., to ratcheting wrenches and vise whips. Pedro's is based out of Haverhill, MA. We say, when it comes to bike tools and lubes...buy local!

Volunteer Night At The Boston Bike Mines

The Boston Bike Mines (the warehouse where RIF bikes are stored) can be a lonely place...a dark, damp, lonely place. Once, while working down there in "the cage," I overheard two men talking as they walked by, "Yup, there's nothin' down here but rats and roaches..." He stalled as he caught a glimpse of me at my bike stand working. He didn't finish his sentence, but I knew what he would have said, "nothin' down here but rats and roaches, and...that weirdo working on bikes." But last Tuesday night the mines were not a lonely place; they were full of life. Our friends from Dot Bike, Boston Cyclists Union, Harris Cyclery, Cambridge Used Bicycles, and elsewhere showed up to help prepare a massive pile of used bikes for Roll It Forward donation. 

More photos of the event after the break...

LIFT Bicycle Giveaway at City Hall Plaza

On Wednesday June 1st, Roll It Forward got together with LIFT on a beautiful, sunny day at City Hall Plaza to donate bikes to a group of folks from Boston's homeless community. It wasn't so much a donation as payment for services rendered — all the recipients earned their bikes through performing community service and many of them listed volunteer work as one of the reasons why they needed a bike to get around in the first place. 

Read more...

Good Shepherd Church Women's Health Fair

May 28th 2011, Roxbury, MA

Roll It Forward provided a fleet of Giant bicycles for a women's health fair put on by the Good Shepherd Church in Roxbury. The day started off slow...

Trade In Your Mountain Bike For A Steel Road Bike Or 3 Speed

Roll It Forward wants your old mountain bike! We'll even trade you a sweet, old steel bike or frame (perfect for converting to a fixed gear or single speed) for it. The level of bike you get will be commensurate with the bike you trade in. We're basically looking for entry level name-brand mountain bikes (no Huffies!) in good condition. 

Contact us HERE if you're interested.